Judge Takes Live At-Bats, Pushes for Wild-Card Roster — SkimNews
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- Aaron Judge participated in on-field BP and took four live at-bats Monday against Yankees pitchers Ryan Weathers and Elmer Rodriguez, hitting a home run to left-center in his final BP swing and drawing two six-pitch walks.
- Judge confirmed the injury is a soleus muscle strain and acknowledged risk in playing through it, including the possibility of an Achilles injury, but said, "Guys take risks every single day."
- Manager Aaron Boone described Judge's injury as a "moderate grade strain" and said the team was planning as if Judge would not be available, but left the door open; Judge said he hopes to return as a right fielder, though Boone said he didn't know if that was realistic.
- Judge's running has been limited to an anti-gravity treadmill and he had not yet run the bases as of Monday, with the Yankees required to submit their wild-card roster by 10 a.m. Tuesday before Game 1 at 8 p.m. at Yankee Stadium.
- The Yankees also face roster questions on Giancarlo Stanton and Ryan Weathers, and their pitching staff posted the lowest ERA in the majors this season as the team amassed 93 wins.
- Judge played in just 66 games this season, batting .241 with 18 home runs and an .871 OPS after playing through a fractured rib and missing more than three months before suffering the calf strain in his seventh game back.
Why it matters: The Yankees must decide by 10 a.m. Tuesday whether to include their star slugger — who played just 66 games and batted .241 this season — on a 26-man roster for a best-of-three wild-card series against the Red Sox, with Judge openly accepting an Achilles injury risk and his running still limited to an anti-gravity treadmill.
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